For the Haventon Born life is seldom simple

Two years ago, David discovered the existence of vampires when his favorite sister fell victim to one. He has been hunting them in his home town of Haventon ever since. Now, as tragedy strikes his family yet again and a botched hunt reveals him to one of his targets, the last thing he needs is responsibility for a novice hunter – let alone one who attacked a human by mistake. And, as if to make matters worse, it quickly becomes apparent that her error has attracted dangerous attention.

Editorial Reviews

Nov 12, 2011: Leisa is an 800 year old vampire, and David the young human vampire determined to kill her. He has more guts than skill at it, and, in their first encounter, she easily defeats his rather clumsy attack. She seems to find him almost amusing, and, in some ways, seems to want to take him under her wing. The narration from her POV has an undercurrent of eroticism that leads me to believe she plans to seduce him, slowly and subtly.

The world is fairly typical vampire fare, with stakes and garlic and blood magic and mind control. David belongs to an Order of vampire and werewolf hunters who seem at once sinistre and innocuous—sinistre in how they casually talk about getting rid of members who don’t measure up, and innocuous in the high-school way they go about it. There’s also the beginnings of a larger plot in the most recent chapters—another vampire with his own ways and agenda.

Overall, the writing is a bit flat—both in narration and dialogue. The opening scene has our young vampire hunter sneaking into the vampire’s house to kill her before she awakes. He’s aware he’s not up to facing her directly. It should be heart-pounding fun. Unfortunately, the scene entirely lacks tension. Later, when he finds out his father has died, we are told he is grief-stricken, but neither his words nor thoughts about it seem to ring true. The dialogue amongst the lesser characters is flatter still—they say exactly what the plot needs them to, and they otherwise all sound the same. As a result, the scenes in Leisa’s POV stand out as the best of the bunch. She’s definitely the best-drawn character, and seems to have the best understanding of herself. As I mentioned earlier, the scenes in her POV even manage a subtle eroticism and desire—emotional content that is missing from the rest of the story.

Most Helpful Member Reviews

Feb 6, 2012: The work is a vampire novel with all the usual trappings of vampire legend, as Chris Poirier mentioned. It seems distinctly inspired by the Underworld movies. That is to say, it’s not hugely original, but the author, Becka Sutton, is a good writer, which makes it worth a look.

I think there are some shortcomings in terms of a lack of tension. We don’t get the strong impression, for example, that David is in real danger. Perhaps introducing the vampire, Leisa, [more . . .]

Nov 29, 2014: Likeable characters who are easy to relate to and sympathise with. Even the villain has that odd like/dislike dynamic that leaves you unable to hate him. The duel main characters form a good team who find themselves supported by an unlikely alliance of characters who do not easily fade to the back ground. (Quite right too!)

Though shorter than her more recent books, the Havertown Chronicles are a tasty teaser for what I hope is yet to come. It is a [more . . .]

Jul 20, 2014: I’m no literary agent,I’m just a girl who loves to read,loves stories,and especially loves supernatural fiction. I’m always a little leery to read new books,because I have a specific itch to scratch when it comes to this genre,but once I started reading it, well lets just say I plowed right thru it to the end in one sitting.

I love the characters,and I love the way the author brings us into their world,while taking us thru all the twist and turns [more . . .]